


Favoring the Brave || ON HOLD

by xxdrarryrebellexx



Series: A Family of Favors [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: A Family of Favors, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Famous, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Domestic Love Triangles, Drarry, F/M, Good Draco Malfoy, HP: EWE, Healer Harry Potter, How Do I Tag, I Don't Even Know, M/M, Musician Draco Malfoy, POC Harry Potter, Self-Indulgent, another one, famous draco
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-04-19 21:10:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14245824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxdrarryrebellexx/pseuds/xxdrarryrebellexx
Summary: | Sequel to Favoring The Bold |Harry knows he was wrong, but he's hoping he can win back the man of his dreams. He'll do whatever it takes to bring this superstar back to earth.DL Black threw himself back into his music, but before he heads back on tour, he thinks he should probably take his family with him.





	1. - ã -

DL Black was standing on a platform that was slowly winding up towards the rest of the stage. Music was streaming through every crevice of the muggle building and in his ear, the guitar man, Dan, was strumming out the melody to the first song he was going to perform.

The higher he rose the more he could see the fog covering the stage billowing out of the smoke machine. The crowd was yelling excitedly and once the platform clicked into place they got even louder. Sure, he loved sharing his music with the world, but he really liked this part too.

 

**\--:--**

 

Harry Potter is at work doing his level best to not have a mental breakdown. When he finally gets the chance to go on break, the coffee machine is broken beyond average magical repair, which means he has to wait for the maintenance wizards to come and give it a once over. There were DL Black posters outside, around the muggle entrance to St. Mungos when he came in and a stack of flyers sitting on a table in the lobby. Draco had dropped them off on an off day and a feeling of anger prickled at the back of Harry's neck at the thought of the blonde git showing up and not staying to talk things through. It'd been years for Merlin's sake. Surely he could at least listen to Harry's apology. Hear an explanation? The anger fizzed out almost as quickly as it came. Draco didn't owe him anything. He was stepping up and being a dad and that's the best the darker man could have hoped for. Especially knowing how much of a pain James Lucius was being whenever he was around his father.

The boys were heading off to Hogwarts tomorrow and Harry didn't think Draco would miss James' first day even if he had missed Teddy's because he was on tour.

 _Teddy isn't Draco's **only** responsibility,_ Harry reminded himself. _Neither_ _of the boys are._

He and Val and the boys had spent the last week camping out in a muggle area together. Val hadn't said much and neither had he, if he was being honest with himself. She was looking put out and try as he might, he would only get a small chuckle and a shake of her bead. When he had asked her what was wrong she had only brushed him off.

 

**\--:--**

 

_"We can talk about it when we get back," she had said. "Let's not ruin the boys trip. Let's all just relax. Space, remember?" She had went swimming in the lake without him after that. He joined a few muggles from a nearby campsite on a hike and she was asleep by the time he had come back to the tent. Once they had gotten back home the boys were a lot calmer and Teddy was doing his best to try and keep James from freaking out over the prospect of starting Hogwarts._

 

_"Are you going to tell me what's been going on with you now?" Harry remembers asking when the boys had gone upstairs._

 

_"Draco- He...You know he loves you, don't you? He loves you and James and Teddy. He loves you guys more than- well probably more than anything in this world or yours."_

 

_Harry looks away, not wanting to look at her as she told him this. Things he knew were true. Things that Teddy had screamed at James about a week ago. Things he was sure of with every fiber of his being._

 

_"Then why'd he leave?" Harry asks, because it's the only argument he has to dispute what she was trying to tell him. It was the only thing that made what she said seem less important._

 

_"When I woke up in the hospital...you were there and you had gotten there so fast and you were by yourself and I thought that meant you had chose me. You said that in that moment I was what was important and I missed that. I missed how when you care about someone you give them your full focus and- I didn't realize you and Draco had become an official thing. Hare, if I would have known I wouldn't have kissed you..."_

 

_"I don't understand..."_

 

_"Draco was bringing the boys to see me in the hospital and he saw us kissing." She was sitting in the armchair near the fireplace with her head down in an equal mix of shame and guilt. "He left because he thought you were choosing me over him. He thought you were cheating on him and he thought he deserved it and it's all my fault-"_

 

_"I didn't have to kiss you back. I was just so relieved that you were okay," he said sinking onto the couch and rubbing a hand down his face._

 

_"Harry, I'm so sorry."_

 

_"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have led you on. That wasn't my intention. I should have told you I was with Draco...He and I were taking the boys out for dinner and a movie and I should've just brought them with me but I was so worried."_

 

_He laid his head against the back of the couch and when he opened his eyes and angry James stood at the bottom of the stairs._

 

_"This is all your fault then? You're the reason he left? Because you wanted her? You said you loved him! Are you just going to get rid of me and Teddy too, huh? Once you get tired of loving us, just going to send us off to live with him so you two can start a new family?"_

 

_"James it's not like that, and you know it," Harry said sitting up and turning quickly to face his youngest son._

 

_"I'm leaving!" He said angrily before storming out of the door and heading off to his father's house._

 

_Harry sighed._

 

**\--:--**

 

The maintenance wizards fixed the coffee machine and Harry poured a huge cup for himself in order to take his mind off of his troubles. This was the 22nd time he had thought about calling Draco Malfoy in as many minutes and that just wasn't the most ideal plan.

Or at least it didn't seem like it, until Harry got paged to leave the pediatric ward and head down to spell damage only to see Draco sodding Malfoy lying on a gurney and being wheeled into an operating room.


	2. - b -

"Does anyone know what happened?" Harry yelled in the general direction of anyone who could possibly tell him what the bloody hell was going on.

 

"A crazy fan got to him," said a young looking wizard in all black robes. "No idea what they shot at him, but I was able to apparate him here before he passed out."

 

"I'm assuming you're one of his Ministry appointed bodyguards."

 

"At the moment, sir. It's my first day...but- uh- this incident will probably cost me my job," the kid said nervously.

 

"I wouldn't be so sure," responded Harry trying to sound calming. "He's not as much of a hard arse as he would want you to think."

 

"If you say so, Healer Potter, sir." The man walked off to sit nervously in the lobby and Harry couldn't blame him. Draco was a menace when he was angry.

 

"A'right!" he says walking into the room and starting to bark out orders. "Fall in when you're needed."

It didn't take too long for them to do a few stabilizing spells then check for the wound. All the blood seemed to be coming from one area and a few of the junior aurors let out a breath. After doing a magical screening they realized that the curse wasn't poisonous or deadly, though it had left a giant gash across his arm and down his right side. Harry who had been standing closest to the man swallowed harshly, but never turned away from him as he got to work wiping down and sealing up the wounds.

 

**\--:--**

 

Draco Malfoy blinked his eyes open slowly, allowing them some time to adjust to the bright lights in the room around him.

"Father," yells James throwing himself at the blonde and wrapping his arms around his dad.

 

"I'm fine, James, I promise," said Draco squirming in his son's grasp, but the boy still didn't move. It took a few minutes before Draco realized James was crying.

 

"I'm sorry I yelled at you and I'm sorry I've been ignoring you and I'm sorry I came to your house mad at Dad but still wouldn't talk to you and I'm sorry that-"

 

"James!" Draco said trying to speak over him. "It's okay. I'm okay."

 

"But what if you weren't? What if- you could have died," The boy said finally giving in to his own tears.

No one knocked, but the door was thrown open anyway, letting in a very angry Pansy Nott.

"I leave you alone for one tour and you go and get yourself blown up!" she says shrugging off her deep emerald blazer. When she found out Draco had a muggle job she took on the first interesting position that opened up. Now she was working as editor for the Quibbler and she tried to look more professional, mostly to annoy Luna who was now one of her closest friends. She gingerly sat on the edge of his bed and accio-ed a box of tissues to give to the boy still sniffling in the corner. "Hello, James Lucius."

 

"Hi, Aunt Pansy," he mutters before wiping his nose.

 

"Anything to say for yourself Draco?"

 

"The next time someone is aiming a curse at me, I will be sure to call you first," the blonde says with a roll of his eyes. She narrows her own at him before speaking.

 

"You better."

 

"What really happened though?" he asked looking at her nervously. He remembered screaming and being cut open, which wasn't a new sensation, _of course it wasn't._ It just wasn't something a person _got used to._

 

"Crazy fan," she said with a shrug, reaching over to brush hair from his face. "Crazier aim. Potter saved your life again."

 

"Potter does pediatric healing," he said looking up from where he was picking at the blanket between his knees.

 

"He's listed on your paperwork as your spouse. If anything happens to you, they're going to call him. You know that. And you know he couldn't just stand by while you were hurt. Potter isn't much of a spectator."

 

"Of course he isn't," Draco says, but he doesn't sound sarcastic, its more of a put-out noise as if he wishes Potter would just leave him be sometimes. Even if he were bloody bleeding to death in St. Mungos. Still loving him felt worse than that. Bring proven why he loves him just forcd the pain deeper.

There was a soft knock before the door to Draco's room opened again admitting a pale wisp of beauty.

"Pansy, there is a junior healer outside who is ready to call the DMLE. I thought we were only here to visit Draco, not get arrested again," says a softly smiling Luna Lovegood. She's wearing a light pair of lacey linen shorts and her top is hidden by her slightly clasped pale blue robes.

 

"We _are_ visiting Draco, I never said what we were doing _after_ this."

 

"Well if you've already decided." Luna says with a shrug of her shoulders that makes Draco almost envy their seemingly uncomplicated relationship. He knew Pansy had wanted more at first, but she knew that what they had now worked. When Luna turns her gaze onto him he feels like he should have looked away. Like he shouldn't have seen them being so comfortable with each other. He hasn't been that comfortable with someone for years. He hasn't really given anyone a chance. "'Ello, Draco."

 

"Hi, Luna," he responds with a smile.

 

"Would you like for me to go get Harry?" she says kindly and his smile drops almost instantaneously.

 

"No, I would not! W-why would I- What makes you think I would want Potter anywhere near me?"

 

"You had that look in your eye."

 

"What look?"

 

"Like you were surrounded by vowtruzals," she says very honestly with a lofty expression. "I do apologize. They are more prominent around newly bonded people and they tend to float all over the place."

 

"I've been married to Theo for 5 months, Loony," Pansy says not unkindly and Luna smiles at her.

 

"That's still quite fresh."

 

"Uh-" says Draco. "No, Luna. False alarm. The vowtra- voo- the air is clear. I promise."

 

"If you're quite sure," the pale woman agrees before changing the subject. "How's Jamesie? I saw Teddy out by the snack machines."

 

"I'm fine!" the boy says, speaking up for the first time without sounding as though he were gurgling. "You can just ask me, Aunt El."

 

"I thought you may want to be left alone," she says. "Though I'm glad you're here. Your father needs the support." Before either of them can say anything else she is twirling her wand and placing flower crowns on their heads.

 

"Alright," says Pansy standing up and brushing stray petals from her black pencil skirt as she stands. "That's our cue to head on out. We're having lunch with Theo and Rolf then we have to get back to the office." She kisses Draco on the cheek then ushers Luna out of the room before she turns back to the pop star lying in bandages on a hospital bed in St. Mungos. "I'm glad you're okay, Draco. Tell Potter I owe him one."

 

"I'm sure he'll decline."

 

"But he can never say I didn't offer." She smiled at him before walking out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally i had written pansy & luna as being married before i remembered luna is with rolf. sooooo now pans is with theo lol. it happens sometimes eh


	3. - ć -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> never beta'd mostly cause i never ask...any mistakes are mine. dont be afraid to let me know:)

Harry has done over a million complicated things in his life.

 

He's fought wars, and killed people, and watched people he love die. Even as a healer he watched kids get sicker and sicker until they just _weren't_ anymore, because even wizards can't cure cancer. He's been invited to more funerals than he can count (and he's actually gone to just as many). He walked around muggle London as a pregnant man for Merlin's sake. Yet the hardest thing he ever had to do was get over it all. To learn to accept that sometimes life is shit, and a lot of the time magic only makes that more complicated, not less.

 

It took even longer for him to grasp the idea that maybe it wasn't all his fault, though there would always be a part of him that felt with all that he had that it was.

 

This time though, this huge game of love tag with Draco they had been in for ages, it _is_ his fault.

When Val broke up with him again, she said he should probably see a therapist. He owled Hermione and she sent over a list of the best mind healers she knew, a few of whom also specialize in flashbacks and nightmares, because she couldn't quite grasp the idea of abandonment he was experiencing and thought maybe it was a war problem. She thought everything was a war problem sometimes. Instead, Val helped him pick one and together they watched the owl fly away to set up his first appointment before he had to watch her as she packed the rest of her things and moved out for good.

A mind healer could only do so much for a depressed and somewhat mentally unstable wizard who is used to being on the run and solving other people's problems. He was learning to stop avoiding things. To face problems head-on. So when he opened the door to check on Draco and tell James to head on home, only to see that the blonde man was awake, he may have regressed and immediately closed the door before briskly walking away.

 

Draco looked at his son who was still looking at the door, trying not to laugh.

 

"What the-" started the blonde staring between the boy and the door. "Was that your father?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Did he jus- Did Harry Potter just _run away_?"

 

"Yes, yes he did."

 

"Merlin's balls, I never thought I'd see the day."

 

"Me either."

 

The door creaked open again, but it was only Teddy looking slightly panicked and forcing himself to swallow as opposed to talking through a mouthful of crisps, while the door slammmed shut behind him.

 

"Why was dad running down the hall? Did something-" he stopped when he noticed Draco sitting up and looking at him. "Oh. You're awake."

 

" _Oh_ ," Draco said astounded. "I could have been dead and all you have to say to my miraculous recovery is ' _Oh_ '."

 

Teddy shrugged.

 

"I'm glad you're not dead," he tried, though it sounded more like an attempt to placate the man, than anything else.

 

"Thank you, Teddy," he responded sarcastically. "I really felt that."

 

"I'm going to get a healer," the boy said with a shake of his head and James laughed. Just as Teddy opened the door, he was met with a raised fist and the sheepish face of one Harry James Potter. "Nevermind, I guess. C'mon, JL, let's go home."

 

"But-" the youngest Potter tried to protest.

 

"No, Teddy's right," Harry said truthfully, yet still happy for the distraction. "You guys should finish packing. I- uh...Draco'll be fine. I promise."

 

Looking very much put out and still angry with Harry, James Lucius stood up, stormed past his dad and tugged Teddy's writst until he was practically dragging the blue haired boy behind him.

 

"Potter."

 

"So...uh how are you?"

 

"That depends. Are you checking in on me or making small talk?"

 

"Er- both I guess? But you can start with how you're feeling."

 

"Like complete and utter shit," he says as if releasing a breath. Now that the boys were gone he was deflated. He could try to put on a show for Harry to prove to him that he didn't need him; that he wasn't broken without him; that his life wasn't empty with out Harry in it, but none of that was true. He was only alive right now because of Harry. And deep down he knows that that is how Harry shows he cares, even when he makes mistakes. He looks away from the messy mass of curls on Potter's head and the deep green eyes that were still trying to pull him in. Draco was staring down at his blankets as he continued talking pathetically relieved. "My foots asleep, my knee is sore, my stomach feels queasy and my head is throbbing. But generally, I'm doing well, thank you."

 

"That's uh- that's good. Not the pain part..." Harry stepped closer and lifted his wand. "Actually I can take care of that...I mean, if you wanted me to."

 

"Well, I don't want to just be in pain, Potter."

 

Without another word, the bespectacled man waved his wand and set an ease over Draco before speaking again.

 

"Uh, I can have someone bring a pepper-up potion if you need one of those too."

 

"No, that was perfectly fine."

 

They sat in silence for a moment before Harry decided to speak again.

 

"Draco, listen, I-"

 

"Leave it, Potter."

 

"About the kiss-"

 

"I'm not listening."

 

"It wasn't like...whatever you're thinking."

 

"And I'm just supposed to believe that?" said Draco, staring harshly at him. The ravenette was sitting on the edge of the bed and looking at him in that vulnerable and visibly nervous kind of way. Stubbornly, he stared back with narrowed eyes.

 

"You've seen me kiss my friend's before. You know I believe in platonic affection. Why is this-"

 

"Potter, seeing you kiss Luna or Granger, or Weasley, that's different and you know it. You had- _have_ feelings for Valeria. So no, you shouldn't be kissing her. Platonic or no."

 

"Draco, I love you. You know that. That hasn't changed. Will _never_ change."

 

"I just need space."

 

"No," says Harry, tired of whining and finally fighting for what he wants. "You've had 3 years worth of space. Do you love me?"

 

"Leave me alone."

 

"Do. You. Love. Me?"

 

"Why does it matter?" Draco said biting back. "Whether I do or don't you're going to throw it back in my face."

 

"Draco Lucous Malfoy, I love you, you fucking git. Do _you_ love _me_?"

 

"Of course I love you, you enlarged pygmy puff!" Draco snapped his mouth closed and turned his head away to look out of the enchanted window of the St. Mungos room.

 

"Okay, then marry me," said Harry and Draco's turned to look at him so fast he could feel the crink in his neck already.

 

"I- You- What the actual _fuck_ , Potter?!"

 

"I was going to ask you once we had gotten to America, but then everything fell apart. I just feel like every time we have a chance to be together, I end up budging it up. And we don't have to get married now, but I just want other people to know that I'm taken. I don't want to be without you again and just- marry me. Please."

 

Draco's face was red and Harry was pretty sure that if they weren't in a hospital he would have gotten his bollocks hexed off. Their eyes met and the darker man was glad he had sent the boys home, because the excitement in their magic was tangible when Draco finally murmured and awed:

 

"Yes."


	4. - d -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> any errors are my own. i was half sleep & full of final exam angst while writing this. lol. sorry.

Draco sits up suddenly and shakes his head.

 

"Wait- no. Potter, we can't get married!"

 

"And why not," asked Harry, the smile sliding from his face, leaving a defensive mask in its place.

 

"Well to be honest, we're a bloody mess," Draco said rather bluntly. "We haven't properly dated in years; we're attempting to co-parent a child who is going off to school tomorrow; not to mention, I'm not moving into your home, when I have a perfectly good one of my own-"

 

"Can't we just figure that stuff out later?" the ravenette asked, and he sat on the bed again before reaching a hand out to grab onto Draco's leg.

 

"No, we can't!" the blonde practically screeches. "You're supposed to be the responsible one, remember. Stop acting like a lonely kneazle."

 

"But," said Harry, sounding put out. "I _am_ a lonely kneazle."

 

"No, you aren't. Not anymore. You haven't been one for ages, Potter. You're a full time pediatric healer and father for Merlin's sake."

 

"So does that mean I shouldn't want things?"

 

"It means you should want things _within reason._ "

 

"So, you admit you're unreasonable," Harry tried with a smile but Draco was firm in his stance.

 

"I _admit_ you're lonely, but jumping into a marriage right away isn't the way to handle it." He pauses for a second before narrowing his eyes and speaking. "Wait a mo...did you only ask me to marry you because James is going off to Hogwarts tomorrow?"

Harry looks away, but that is all the confirmation Draco needs before he's asking him to leave the room. Harry is staring at his own feet as if he can't figure out how to force himself off of the bed, across the room and out of the door. His voice is rough and raw when he speaks.

"The first time you left was hard, of course it was, I was pregnant and you didn't know and I was sure you wanted nothing to do with us. I focused on raising James and being glad that Andy and everyone else was willing to help. But then...Draco you came back and I hadn't realized how badly I missed you until you were up on that stage belting your lungs out and I just- I don't know what I wanted. At the time, I guess it was just to get away from you as quickly as possible, becauss whenever we get together it's..."

 

"Don't you dare say magical."

Harry snorted, but continued on anyway. "These last few years without you have been torture. Thinking you'd be good with the boys then seeing you with them and realizing that you were good for them too, then having that all torn away-"

 

"Potter, you aren't going to change my mind. This is a bad idea and I'm not going through with it. You can't make me."

 

"I'm not trying to make you _do_ anything," Harry said, a mix of defensive and angry. "It's just- I feel like with the boys at school we have a chance for a relationship. Time to work on _us_."

 

"What relationship? There is no us!"

 

"To work on a friendship then."

 

"That's what you said 8th year, then we started dating."

 

"So is that a yes?"

 

"It's a 'I'm pretty sure I'm gonna regret this'."

 

"You know what, I'm positive that I missed you." He shrugged with a small smile. "I like having you around, Draco."

 

"I'm not sure that's something a friend would say."

 

"I'm really into platonic affection," Harry said truthfully with a lopsided grin that forced a smile onto Draco's face.

 

**\--:--**

 

"Why'd you bring us here," James said, shoving at his brother once they were back home.

 

"You seriously have to finish packing, we leave tomorrow, ya div."

A goofy smile broke out across James Lucius' face as he abd his brother raced upstairs to finish packing his things.

"What house do you think I'll be in?" the younger boy asked excitedly, throwing junk from his drawers. "D'you think I could be in Slytherin like Father?"

 

"Grandmére said there's never been a Malfoy or Black sorted into any other house. Even Gam was a Slytherin." Teddy got quieter as if he was telling some huge secret. "Sirius Black was put into Gryffindor and he got **disowned**!"

 

"Dad was a Gryffindor," reasoned James with wide eyes. "I wouldn't get _disowned_."

 

"Maybe not by Dad or Gam, but what about Father or Grandmére."

 

"You literally just said the same thing twice, but you call me the div."

 

"You know what I mean." Teddy threw a dirty sock at him and laughed when it hit him square in the face.

 

"You're just tryna scare me, Ted, and it won't work!" James threw the sock back, but it fell to the floor.

 

"Ha, you know I'm just kidding." The blue haired boy lowered himself onto the only clean surface the bed had to offer and leaned his head against his hand. "And anyway, you're so much like Dad, you'll probably be in Gryffindor regardless."

 

"Yeah," James said, tossing himself onto a pile of clothes next to his suitcase. "I was thinking so too. I just thought that if I was in Slytherin..."

 

"Maybe they'd reconnect and get back together or something?"

 

"Am I barmy to think that?"

 

"You're completely bonkers," Teddy said seriously, before a smile broke out on his face. "But I get it."

 

"Do you think it'd work?"

 

"No." At the downtrodden look on his brother's face he continued. "They're adults, Jamesie. They have to figure it out for themselves. You can't just try to fix it for them. Your plan wouldn't work anyway."

 

"Then...d'you think they'll ever get back together?"

 

"I don't know. Maybe. I mean, if they both haven't gone _completely_ barmy and they still love each other enough, then probably."

James flopped backwards into the clothes with a groan.

 

"But they're both idiots!"

 

"Yeah," Teddy said through a laugh. "Can't disagree with you there. Hey! Maybe _that's_ why you're such a weirdo."

 

"I hate you," the younger boy said sitting up again. "Why are we even friends?"

 

"We arent," Teddy said through a chuckle, "We're brothers. Now let's finish getting you packed."

 

"Yes, sir," James says with a roll of his eyes.


	5. - ë -

Almost immediately after talking to Draco, Harry arranged a meeting with his mind healer for the next morning.

The healer had a fairly large office, with huge bookshelves lining the walls, probably full of books he had never even touched. Harry stared at them and decided that maybe they had all been gifts or maybe he had bought them to look like he was worldly or something. Harry wasn't sure, but when Healer Grant cleared his throat, he thought it was highly unlikely and decided to ask.

"Have you read all of those books?" He asked and Grant shook his head with a smile.

 

"Not all of them, but a nice a few of them, I think." He pointed at the wall in the back of the room and directed his hand to wave lazily. "All the ones on the back wall, but I haven't quite got past those."

Harry nodded then opened his mouth to say something in response before snapping it shut again. The healer tilted his head.

"I asked if you were feeling nervous about sending your son off to Hogwarts this morning?"

 

"No, I trust Jamesie," Harry says absently.

 

"You just seem a bit out of it. Would you like to tell me why?"

 

"Not particularly, but I guess that's the whole point of being here. I'm not good at talking about...well anything really."

 

"I think you talk perfectly fine. If you want to really talk- or not talk- that's what I'm here for," Healer Grant said calmly.

Harry nodded before shrugging and picking at a loose strand on his jeans.

"Well- er- I carried James. I think I've mentioned that before...but his father is back and he's been helping take care of him for a few years and I want to be with him, but he won't make that step. I mean, we're friends now, which I guess is a good thing, but I want more. He's coming with me to see the boys off, but I want more than that." His hands pause though he is still looking down. "Is it wrong of me to want more than that?"

Healer Grant shook his head. He and Harry had been talking about wants for the last few meetings. Harry wasn't used to going for what he wanted. He was used to doing what was best for _other people_. Doing what they wanted.

"It's not wrong for you to want things, Harry. It'd be wrong of you to ignore the things you want." He stopped talking until the ravenette looked up at him. "That doesn't mean they have to want you back."

 

**\--:--**

 

 Draco had been at King's Cross almost an entire hour earlier than necessary. He wasn't supposed to apparate for at least another week which meant he had to floo the ministry before 9 in the bloody morning to organize a portkey that landed near the station. Then it took another hour for them to check his records and approve the trip. By the time he landed around the corner from the station and made his way through the crowds towards the proper platform, Harry was just apparating in with the boys.

"What would have happened if they missed the train?" He asked once they were all walking towards platform 9 3/4 as a family.

 

"The Hogwarts Express doesn't leave until 11," Harry said keeping his voice steady.

 

"It's 10:34, Potter."

 

"Oh, really," the darker man said staring at him challengingly before stomping off, an excited James Lucius following him. "Then we're early."

 

"Don't mind him," Teddy said, placing a hand on Draco's forearm. "His appointment with the mind healer didn't go the way he wanted it to. I heard him telling Aunt Hermione about it before we headed over."

 

"I didn't even know he was seeing a mind healer."

 

"He's only been going for about a week." Teddy shrugged with a chuckle before raising his voice loud enough for Harry to hear, marching steadily ahead of them. "Maybe he'll figure out why he's always so late!"

 

"Oi," the ravenette said turning back with a pointed finger at the second year hufflepuff. "Then you should be ahead of me, yeah? There's the platform. Get!"

With every ounce of the theatrics he could muster up, Teddy stuck his tongue out, bowed then grabbed his buggy and took off through the brick archway with a charming grin. Once he was gone both men looked to the hazel-eyed boy who gulped.

"Hey, Dads..." the boy starts, before the rest becomes unintelligible. He spoke in voice so quiet the men were tempted to cast a muffliato on the rest of the crowd in the station.

 

"You're mumbling, James Lucius," Draco said firmly and the boy straightened his back before repeating himself a little louder, though still quite tame to his usual volume.

 

"Will you guys cross with me?"

Without another word, they each stepped up to their son's side, grabbed a hold of his luggage buggy then on the count of three, rushed at the wall between platforms 9 and 10. As the wall came closer and closer, James squeezed his eyes shut and bit down on his lip to keep himself from screaming until he felt the somewhat familiar whoosh of magic similar to whenever he'd go to his father's house. His eyes popped open and he froze. Last year when Teddy headed off to Hogwarts, James was at home with Val trying not to completely break down and now he realized why.

He looked around the large platform in awe. Although it seemed like it would be such a small space in theory, the room stretched on forever. The ceilings were large and curved and the smoke billowing from the train sent shivers down his spine. He spun around with a proud grin to see both of his father's smiling down at him for only a moment before they were ambushed by preteens and other Hogwarts students asking for their autographs.

"It was easier last year," Teddy said quietly showing up beside him. "Just Dad was here, ya know? And he wasn't in a very doting fan type of mood."

 

"How'd _you_ handle it?" James Lucius asked, gazing longingly at his fathers and the attention they send born for.

 

"C'mon, I'll show you. It's quarter til." The older boy grabbed his brother's wrist and some of his luggage and helped him stuff it onto the train.


	6. - f -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> any notes or anything lemme know...i don't have like a beta or anything so... those things are appreciated

"Did they- Potter, did they _leave_ ," Draco said, looking around the platform, a mix of angry and sad. Harry checked the time and shrugged.

 

"The train shouldn't leave for another 5 minutes or so and they wouldn't leave without saying goodbye," Harry said without looking at him and walking down the slowly clearing platform to see if he could find their sons.

 

"How do you know that? I never said goodbye to _my_ father when it was time to get on the train."

 

"No offense, Draco, but you were a spoiled brat obsessed with your image. I'm surprised you even showed up with your parents as much as you did."

Draco stopped in his tracks and grabbed Harry's arm roughly, turning him around.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Harry only shrugged and brushed the blonde away, but looked him in the eyes when he spoke anyway.

"You were a prat. You were _raised_ like a prat. You still have the tendency to _be_ a prat." He shrugged. "My boys weren't raised like you were."

 

" _Your_ boys?" Draco grit out.

 

"Yes. _My_ boys. The boys I took care of for the majority of their childhoods."

 

"You mean the kids who are just as much- if not more- related to me. The same kids that Andromeda, and whoever else, raised until you were old enough to stop calling whatever you were doing babysitting?" Draco was practically growling. "You can't get mad at me for not being there for them when you didn't even have the bloody courage or whatever the hell it is, to tell me about James in the first place!"

 

"S'not like you would have cared before. You had a whole life going for you, right, Malfoy? Just running away when things get tough. You were too busy for a family. Always were."

 

"Then why the hell am I here, then? Why in the name of Merlin and Morgana am I still bloody standing here listening to you try to tear me a new one? It must be because I don't care about you and our boys right?"

 

" _My_ boys," Harry insists weakly. He had told Healer Grant what he wanted. He had admitted to himself what he wanted, but when it was standing right in front of him there were a million reasons in his head about why he couldn't have it. Why he shouldn't.

 

"Oh, go hex yourself, Potter," said Draco pushing past Harry when some of the smoke clears and he finally spots James and Teddy standing at one of the doors on the train carriage. "Alright there, Jamesie?" asked the blond once he was close enough.

The boy grinned and nodded, while Teddy threw an arm over his shoulders.

"I'll look out for him," his brother said gladly.

 

"We don't doubt it for a second," said Harry finally making his way over to them. "Go find a seat, yeah? The trains taking off," he said looking around at all the other crying and waving parents still onthe platform.

Draco reached an arm out and ruffled the hair on both of the boy's heads.

"Hey, Teddy," he said as the trains whistle blew, "show me how blonde you can go."

The blue haired boy smiled wide before flashing his hair platinum blond and rising off to their seats tugging a laughing James behind him. They made it to a somewhat empty compartment and threw open the window to wave as the train pulled off. When it was finally out of sight Harry turned to Draco with a soft apologetic smile when he noticed the blonde had tear stains on his cheeks. He looked away before he started speaking again.

"I know they're your boys too...I'm just- things have been hard, alright? And I just don't know how to-"

 

"Would you like to come over to my house?" Draco asked, clearing his throat as he sent Harry a sideways glance.

 

"I've never been to your new house before."

 

"Well, of course not, Potter, but you look like you need a drink and we obviously need to talk about a few things, don't you think?"

 

"I guess."

 

"Nothing is ever easy with you, is it?"

 

"When it comes to you? Not a chance."

 

**-:-**

 

Harry was staring down into his cup of tea while Draco went back in the kitchen to grab the firewhiskey.

"Teddy says your seeing a Mind Healer." He tips a nice amount of alcohol into Harry's tea before sitting across from him and doing the same to his own drink.

 

"S'only been a week," mumbled the darker man before taking a sip.

 

"Is it..." Draco took a long sip from his tea cup as well and moved his hand in a general motion.

 

"The war, you mean?"

 

"Yeah."

 

"No."

 

"Oh." He looked down in a way that almost forced Harry to ask, but they weren't together anymore. He didn't have the right to ask personal questions. It was none of his business. Draco kept talking. "Do you think it's working?"

 

"I think I'd be better off with a few anti-depressant potions and a pat on the back."

 

"I've never thought about going to a mind healer, myself. I tend to find other things to keep me busy."

Harry knew it was none of his business, but the way Draco looked down again, like he was lost...like he was used to not having anyone to share these things with, he had to ask. Parkinson and Zabini and everyone else Draco knew had went on with their lives while he was off being famous. They made time for him, but they still had their own lives even if his felt like it was falling apart. Even Harry had made friends since they parted ways. Even the last time, he still had Val.

"Do you still have them, then? The nightmares," Harry asked almost in a whisper and Draco snorted out a laugh.

 

"They've never stopped for long. I'm taking something for it. It's fine. We're here to talk about your little strop back at the platform."

 

"Draco," said the ravenette sternly, forcing the blond to look up into his eyes. "Don't change the subject."

 

"Don't look at me like that!" Draco said throwing his cup across the room, but Harry's magic caught it before it could shatter. "You think this is easy? Trying to be there for you and you're looking at me like- like **_that_**!?"

 

"Like what?" Harry says sitting back surprised at Draco's outburst, dropping the cup anyway.

 

"Like nothing's changed! Like you still want to help me!"

 

"If thats all you think I'm doing then just sitting there _is_ the easy part."

 

"Potter, I'm sitting across from you, trying to be a good friend because it's clear you need _someone_ and all you want to do is be there for everyone else. I don't need you to be there for me. I need you to be there for yourself!"

 

"Don't you get it? I'm **_trying_**!" Harry stood up and backed Draco into a wall without even touching him. There was about a meter of space between them, but they were both burning up. "I _know_ I'm broken and budged up a million ways from Sunday and I'm trying to work through it, but-" he shut his mouth and shook his head to himself. "That's why I was so mad at the platform. Because you keep doing things- the _right_ things- and I don't know how to react to that. I just know that I like it when you're there. I like when you're with me. I want to work things out with you because I always want you with me, Draco."

 

"I told you at the hospital, I can't marry you. That won't fix anything."

 

"We never have to get married if you don't want to. I just- I want to be able to be there for you without having to give myself a thousand excuses as to why... I can't just be friends with you."

 

"I want you to leave," Draco said quietly, not looking Harry in the eyes. "This was a bad idea. You should go home."

 

"You can't keep running from this!" Harry said louder, stepping closer. Draco stuck his hand out and Harry grabbed it and placed it on his chest, over his heart. "You wanna know why I'm seeing a mind healer? I have depression and abandonment issues and a load of other shit, but every time you leave without an explanation like that, everytime you force me out, my magic goes haywire and I can't-"

 

"Harry!" the blond yells, stopping him, but finally looking in his eyes. "That's not a reason to be with someone. Because I keep your magic stable? That's not love. You'd just be using me. We'd be using each other."

 

"That's not- I didn't- No." He took a deep breath, but they both knew whatever was happening had come to a standstill. "I _do_ love you, but-"

 

"There are no 'buts'. Either you love me or you don't. Now, I would really like for you to leave."

Harry backed away embarrassed and slowly, before turning and making his way towards the door.

"But for the record, Potter," Draco said forcing him to look back at him. "I love you too."

They sent each other tentative smiles and Harry closed the door behind him with a soft click.


	7. - g -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again no beta...lemme know of any mistakes, please

Without Draco or Val around, Harry was working harder.

He still hadn't completely re-learned how to control his magic again since Draco had left the last time, but that's what friends were for...even if Hermione was tired of directing him through the same spell motions over and over. He was going to prove to Draco that he didn't just need him to keep his magic stable, he just wanted to be around him because he loved him and the first step was stabilizing his own magic.

"Harry, _focus_!" shouts Hermione as he tries and fails to light a series of candles.

 

"Yeah!" agrees Hermione and Ron's toddler, Rose, pointing at Harry and making the C sound much more like a T. "Fo'tus!"

Harry smiles at Rose and tries again, but fails. Hermione had him doing movie style magic control and he was budging it up worse than he'd ever seen happen in a film. All three candles melted and she put them in the pile with the others before setting up three more.

"Just light the two on the outside," she tells him for the twentieth time, as if he had forgotten.

 

"I know what to do, 'Mione," he says peeking up at her from the floor. "I just can't seem to get it to work, is all."

 

"I'm just trying to help," she says softly and he nods at her.

 

"Thanks for that," he agrees, "but it isn't that easy to control my magic anymore. Let's take a break, yeah?"

 

"Have you talked to Healer Grant?" his friend asks before he picks up Rose and ignores Hermione completely.

 

"Hello, lovely," said Harry with a grin and a kiss to her cheek. She breaks into giggles when he starts blowing raspberries against the same cheek.

 

" _N~o_!" she screams happily. "Unca' Harry, focus!"

 

"Harry," Hermione said patiently before sitting in the armchair next to the fireplace and looking expectantly at him. "You can't just avoid conversations you don't want to have."

 

"Why not? That's what Malfoy does."

 

"Harry," she said in that chastising yet motherly tone.

 

"No, I haven't talked to Healer Grant. He knows my magic is...wild. Occasionally. I may have- er- made his bookcase..." the ravenette made a fist with his hand before popping it back open to mimic an explosion.

 

"Oh, no."

 

"Yeah..." he placed another kiss on Rose's cheek before sitting her down and heading towards the kitchen. "I didn't do it on purpose!"

Before Hermione could start her argument about how the fact that he didn't mean to, especially at his age, was the entire problem, there was a knock on the door. She narrowed her eyes at him as if he had done it and he wasn't quite sure how she thought he could have managed that, but then she opened the door and Draco Malfoy was inviting himself into the room in dress clothes- honest to Merlin, proper dress robes!- and they both gaped at him.

"Perfect," he said dryly. "That was the exact reaction I was hoping for. Silence."

When neither of the brown-skinned wizards in the room made any moves or noises except for Rose, who was pulling at her mother's pants leg excitedly (the way she did everything), Draco rolled his eyes exasperated.

"Er- nice- uh...robes, Malfoy," Harry finally sputtered out.

 

"Eloquent as usual, Potter, thank you. Now, why aren't you dressed?"

 

"Uh- are we going somewhere?" he said not sure whether to be excited or terrified.

 

"Fucks sake- I sent you-" Draco dug into his robe pocket annoyed to fish out his cell phone before shoving it into Harry's face with a series of messages sent to him.

 

"I never got any of those," Harry said finally making it into the kitchen to retrieve his muggle phone from the drawer. Sure enough though, when he opened his phone he had more than 10 messages from the blond that ranged in urgency from calm to calmly angry.

 

"I have to be at a muggle movie premier," he explains tiredly.

 

"In dress robes?"

 

"They're muggle clothes," he said still slightly annoyed, "I just had them tailored. I'm not an amateur, Potter."

 

"So...why are you here?" Harry asked once he realized they had never exactly covered it and the messages weren't very specific.

 

"I have to go to a movie premier-"

 

"Yeah, you already said that..."

 

"-and Pansy is busy," the blonde finished through gritted teeth.

 

"And...you want to take me?" Harry asks with a smile.

 

"I have to take someone; I can't just go alone."

 

"So you thought of _me_."

 

"I _thought_ of  Pansy, but she's busy."

 

"Just admit you wanted a reason to take me out," the ravenette said with a cocky yet playful smirk that he hoped Draco would agree with.

 

"I could take Blaise," said Draco more to himself, as if making a decision before turning around and heading back towards the door. Harry grabbed at his wrist before he could.

 

"I'm joking, Malfoy. Gimme a mo' to get dressed, yeah?"

 

"Fine," he said sulkily before taking a graceful seat on the couch. The same couch he felt like Harry's had for ages. A couch that he helped pick. He was rubbing the cushions absently when a young girl hopped on the couch next to him and he froze, looking up from the lumpy chair to a caramel face full of freckles with wild red curly hair.

 

"You're DL Black!" she said happily.

 

"I am," he agreed, smiling at her easily. She was missing one of her front teeth, but that didn't stop her from grinning back at him. "You must be li'l Rose-y."

 

"You do stuff on the telly!" said Rose, moving as close to him as possible on the couch without sitting in his lap. "You sing good! I can sing too, look-"

Hermione jumped into action almost immediately. Lifting Rose from the couch.

"Rose, what did I say abou-"

 

"It's fine, Granger," Draco said cutting her off.

 

"It's Granger-Weasley, now," she said on instinct. "You _know_ that."

 

"And yet you keep correcting me," said Draco flippantly.

 

"Because you keep getting it _wrong_."

 

"How is it _wrong_ , if it's still _your name_?"

Hermione took a deep breath like she was about to give him the entire lecture on names and hyphenation and how wrong he really was, but before they could get into that particular conversation, Harry was coming down the stairs buttoning his dress shirt. Draco stood just as gracefully as he did everything else before walking over to the darker man at the bottom of the steps and adjusting his bow tie.

"Look what happens when you actually run a comb through your hair," said the taller man when he was finally able to take a full look at Harry. The ravenette usually wore his curly hair up because of how messy it was, but now he had slicked it back into a low curly ponytail, playing up his bone structure in a way Draco never thought the man would be capable of.

 

"I just never go anywhere important," the man replied, already picking at his top button.

 

"Ministry events?"

 

"'Mione usually spells it down for a few hours," he said sticking his lip out.

 

"You know it never lasts, Potter, don't pout. You met my parents wearing _muggle joggers_."

 

"In my defense, Narcissa has seen me dead and your father has tried to kill me. I think I looked good, ya know, all things considered."

 

"It's the principle of the thing."

 

"Of course it is. And anyway, they walked into the flat just after we had a shag. Be glad I wasn't stark naked."

 

"Uh..." said Hermione just as Rose began bouncing up and down screaming: "What's a shag? What's a shag!? Can I shag!? I wanna shag!"

 

"On that note," Hermione said with a tone of finality that made Harry snort out a laugh, "I'm gonna take Rose home. Enjoy your premier," she added with a threatening grin that was completely because she knew how much Harry hated attention and how much of a spectacle going with DL Black would make him.

 

"Hey, Rosey," he said bending down slightly to match his goddaughter's height in her mother's arms, as the friend in question grabbed a handful of floo powder, "Why don't you ask Nana Weasley what a shag is? I'm sure she'll be happy to tell you."

Hermione squeaked in protest before yelping out her address and carrying her daughter into the floo with her.

"Slytherin Harry, at it again," said Draco with a devilish grin once the flames calmed down, tugging him towards the door. "Now, c'mon. We have to apparate to the magic-only area the venue agreed to before going to the actual event. I'm performing so I would like to be there as early as possible, you bloody slug."

 

"I'm literally right beside you!" Harry said laughing.

 

"Oh, is that what that smell is?"

Harry shoved him playfully with a small content, lopsided grin. This was why his magic felt stable when he was with Draco. It wasn't that their life was particularly calm or stable or anything close to it, it was the fact that the blond git was familiar. He did the craziest things and Harry could almost never guess what he would do next, but he knew him. He knew what he needed. They had been apart for years and practically ages before that, but Draco came back and still made him feel like he could do anything. It had been ages since anyone thought Harry Potter could do anything. He was just a washed up saviour with kids now.

"Potter," said Draco pulling him forward out of his thoughts before wrapping his own arms around the ravenette's waist, "Don't let go."

 

"Never," Harry said looking up into the steely grey eyes of a man he was sure he would never stop loving, before they were both whisked away.

**Author's Note:**

> here's the sequel. as promised.
> 
> regular updates every Friday, yeah?


End file.
